- Difficulty
- Hard
- Time
- 00:00
- Mines
- 40
The opening is pre-cleared. Tap to reveal, switch to Flag on touch screens, or right-click to flag. Swipe horizontally to move across the larger field.
The safe opening is ready. Follow the numbered clues.
hard Minesweeper
Use overlapping groups instead of probability.
Hard Minesweeper keeps the classic goal: reveal every safe square while using each number as the exact count of adjacent mines. The board shown here measures 16 × 16 with 40 mines and begins from a fixed safe opening.
This example is designed for about 12 minutes. Before publication, the solver completed it in 81 single-clue and subset deductions, so the intended path does not depend on a lucky first click or a forced random guess.
Subtract smaller covered neighborhoods from larger overlapping ones. The difference between their mine requirements can prove an added square safe or identify a mine without choosing the most likely option.
Reveal and Flag modes make touch input explicit, while Undo and Hint preserve the reasoning loop. An incorrect reveal stays covered instead of ending the run, and the full board state is stored locally if you pause or leave the page.
Common questions
What makes this Minesweeper hard?
The 16 × 16 field contains 40 mines and requires 81 verified deductions after its safe opening. The rating reflects board scale and logical depth.
How should I approach a hard board?
Subtract smaller covered neighborhoods from larger overlapping ones. The difference between their mine requirements can prove an added square safe or identify a mine without choosing the most likely option.
What should I do when every move looks uncertain?
Verify the flags first, then compare pairs of adjacent clues with strongly overlapping covered neighbors. Write the remaining mine count for each group before acting.
Can this board require a guess?
No. The published starting position was verified with deterministic single-clue and subset deductions. A logical next move exists even when it appears on another part of the open boundary.